Sunday, 23 August 2015

Janmashtami Date for 2015 - 5th September, 2015.

Commemorating the birth of Lord Krishna, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated with great ardor and enthusiasm all over India and even abroad. According to the great Indian epic, Mahabharata, Lord Krishna was born on the eighth day of the dark half of Hindu month, Shravana. Thus the festival of Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day after the full moon of Shravana. The first day of this majestic and colorful festival is called Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami and the second day is known as Kalastami or Janmashtami. As the cities of Mathura, Vrindavan and Dwarka have been associated with Lord Krishna himself, the festivities in these places are more fervent and splendiferous as compared to other places. The image of the infant Krishna is bathed in milk and is cradled at midnight, precisely the hour according to the legends Krishna was born in. The conch shell is blown and the devotees celebrate the birth of the great savior and the supreme soul who was born to enlighten and steer the human race towards righteousness.
Though different traditions and customs associated with the celebration of Janmashtami may slightly differ in different regions of the country, the spirit and the essence remain the same. On this auspicious day 'Ras Leela', depicting Krishna dancing and playing with the Gopis is held all throughout the country in which devotees participate with great zeal and ardor. Especially in Brij, Mathura & Vrindavan devotees and tourist from all across the country gather to witness the grandeur and the magnificence of the celebrations. In some parts of the north India and western India, Krishna Jayanti is celebrated for three days. On the second day of the festival 'Dahi Handi' is organized which is a popular custom, where the pot containing curd or butter or milk is broken by the youths. Singing Krishna chants and reading and recitation of the Bhagvata Geeta and Geet Govindam are some of the indispensable traditions of this festival.

Birth of Lord Krishna

Lord Krishna was born to bring an end to the tyrannical and savage king, kamsa as it was prophesized. Though, the date of birth of Krishna can't be stated with certainty but the Hindu scholars believe it to be somewhere between 3200 and 3100 BC. As described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, it was the eighth day of the dark half of Shravana.

Janmashtami Rituals
The festival of Janmashtami celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna on earth is one of the most important Hindu festivals and is celebrated with great gaiety and devotion. Observing the birth of one of the most revered Hindu gods, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the festival of Janmashtami has been associated with innumerable customs and traditions. People observe fast without water

anmashtami in Vrindavan & Mathura

Janmashtami is celebrated to commemorate the birth of one of the most revered Hindu gods Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Though, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated all throughout the country with immense zeal. But, in Vrindavan and Mathura where this Hindu deity was born and spent his formative years the splendor and zeal surrounding the festivities is unmatched.

Popular Places
Janmashtami is one such festival that is celebrated equally in North and South India. Preparations for the same start weeks in advance. Different parts of the country celebrate the festival differently. In South India, the celebrations are most prevalent in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In both the places, the idol of Lord Krishna is placed in a decorated mantapa. Bhakshanam (snacks and sweets in Sanskrit), are specially prepared for the festival, and offered to Lord Krishna. Along with it, fruits that are his favorites are also offered. In some parts of Karnataka, chakli, avalakki and bellada panaka are prepared especially for the festival. In North India, celebrations are no less than being called extravagant and splendid. While Gokul and Vridnavan (Lord's birth and growing up place) witness flocks of visitors coming to the place to celebrate the festival at Krishna janamabhoomi, the other parts organize different events and practice different rituals to mark the occasion. In the cities of Mumbai and Pune, dahi-handi is organized wherein a group of men form human pyramid to reach a high-hanging pot of butter and break it. In the city of Dwarka in Gujarat and the eastern states of Orissa and West Bengal, people celebrate it with fasting and doing puja at midnight. Though the rituals practiced vary from one region to the other, the spirit and devotion to the Lord is same everywhere. Thus, it wouldn't be wrong to say that Krishna is the most loved and celebrated God in India.

Friday, 21 August 2015

The GovindDev Ji Temple is a very famous place that is very important, spiritual and religious destination for Hindus, especially for the devotees of Shree Krishna. The temple is surrounded by many gardens in which there are few beautiful chandeliers (which came from Europe) and many paintings of Indian art.

It was built in 1735 by the king, Sawai Pratap Singh II. The ceiling of the temple is made of gold and looks really beautiful. The temple was positioned and made such that the Maharaja can get a direct view from his palace (Chandra Mahal).

The Satsang Bhawan at the Govind Dev – Ji temple holds a World Record and is mentioned in The Guinness Book. It is a marvel of construction because it has the worlds widest flat roof construction with a single span of 119 feet.

The Govind Dev Ji Mandir is a sacred place that was made for the 8th avatar of Shree Krishna ji maharaj. This beautiful temple is located in the pink city of Jaipur which is a famous tourist destination. Earlier the idol of Govind Ji Maharaj was kept at the Vrindavan temple located in north Indian state of UP (Uttar Pradesh) but later on Raja Sawai Jai Singh ji brought it to Jaipur. The idol is very beautiful and it looks exactly the same like the Shree Krishna himself.

The temple is placed at a very beautiful place in the pink city area and is just between the Badal Mahal and the Chandra Mahal. Every day, exactly seven different and right times Aartis, Prashad and Bhogs are offered and Janmashtami is the most important festival here because on that day the Shree Krishna was born and is very special for me and everyone who is a devote of Govindji Maharaj.

History of the Govind Dev – Ji Temple

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ji wanted to explore the holy place which is mentioned in Bhagvat Purana that were related to Shee Krishna ji maharaj. He visited the Vrindavan Dhaam which at that time was a jungle and then after hard work Mahaprabhu hi was finally able find the places which was mentioned in the Bhagvat Purana but sadly he couldn’t s stayed there for much time.

It has been said that Shri Roop Goswami ji along with Sanatan Goswami ji went to the city of Vrindavan to finish the sacred task started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Finally on Basant Panchami in 1525, the GovindDev Ji himself presented himself to Roop Goswami at Goma Mandir which is a very popular at Vrindavan.But it was Maharaja S

Bajranabh, the legend

According to hindu mythology, Bajranabh is the great grandson of the Lord Krishna, sculpted with his own hand an astonishing idol of the GovindDev Ji. About 5000 years ago, it is believed that when Bajranabh was at the age of 13, he asked his grandmother that how Krishna looked and after getting a detailed description of Lord Krishna.

Bajranabh created the first image of the Krishna but the grandmother told him he needs to improve it as it looks only a little bit like the Lord Krishna but not exactly the same. So Bajranabh created second image but again the grandmother told him he still needs to improve it because it only looks half like the Lord Krishna. So then Bajranabh again cra his third and the final image of the Lord Krishna. The grandmother told him that it completely looks like the Lord Krishna. Finaly Bajranabh was very happy and image was named Bajrakrit which meaning created by Bajra.

The right time to visit or have darshan of the Govind Dev – Ji temple is during the hindu festival of Janmashtami because on that day the Lord Krishna was born and it is celebrated at the temple.

Timings for Darshan and Aarti

People are allowed to visit and do darshan and aarti which starts from 5 AM till 9 PM. The Magala Aarti starts at 5 AM and ends at 6 AM. The Dhoop Aarti starts at 8 AM and ends at around 9:45 AM. The Shringar Aarti starts at 10:30 AM and it is completed at 11:15 AM. The Rajbhog Aarti starts at 11:45 AM and continue till 12:15 PM. The Gwal Aarti starts at 5:30 PM and ends exactly at 6:00 PM. The Sandhya Aarti starts at 6:30 PM to 7:45 PM. The Shayan Aarti starts at 8:30 PM and follows till 9:00 PM.

Don’t get confused about the timings. If you are confused about govind dev ji darshan timings then you can always call us.

Festivals celebrated at the Govind Dev Ji Temple

There are many festivals celebrated at the Govind Dev – Ji Temple but Janamashtami and Holi are the major festivals. Janamashtami is celebrated as the birth of Lord Shree Krishna and it is celebrated on Bhadrapad month which is a month of Hindu Calendar or you can say August.

Then an anther festival is celebrated just before Holi which is simply amazing.

For the devotees of Lord Shree Krishna, after Vrindavan, the Govind Dev – Ji temple has high regards and hence devotees from different nations came here to worship Lord Shree Krishna.